Forever Home Fund

tootallulah

Congratulations on the house and good luck on eating down the stores. I find that freezer surprise is often a marvellous dinner.

katep23

Hi Tootallulah, freezer surprise it is. The lamb I got out and slow cooked in red wine is in fact pork. Not sure I would have cooked it in red wine so trying to work out how to salvage it!

katep23

Inching closer on the house front. Searches are not due back until mid December so it is touch and go if we will complete before Christmas.


Had chorizo and black bean stew with brown rice for dinner - another tin used up and a bit more of the brown rice which OH won't eat!


Splurged a bit and bought a twinkling winter canvas of a tree lined avenue with the lights as snow - very pretty.


Got home to a £5 Tilda voucher for a dodgy microwave rice I bought recently and 3 £10 off a £40 spend at Waitrose - will definitely make use of those if I can (only on things we will use and not have to move of course - maybe wine?!)


Off to visit sister and family tomorrow - getting the train using a voucher from a recent delayed trip so it will only cost a few pounds!

katep23

Very slow progress, we're waiting on the searches to find out if there was planning permission on the extensions.


We've got insurance ready to go once we exchange and that was £200 cheaper than the next quote but a better level of cover so that's pretty good.


Had our neighbour over for roast chicken this afternoon - with the ulterior motive that he act as witness to singing documents for the solicitor. No such thing as a free lunch round here!

v1ckyt

katep23 wrote: »

Had our neighbour over for roast chicken this afternoon - with the ulterior motive that he act as witness to singing documents for the solicitor. No such thing as a free lunch round here!

I'd quite like to have seen (and heard) the singing of the documents! :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

katep23

v1ckyt wrote: »

I'd quite like to have seen (and heard) the singing of the documents! :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Ha ha, yes well you know how musical I am!

katep23

OH has been paid and got his Christmas bonus and the company have bought back some holiday days from him. Worked out what I should be paid on Friday and have run the numbers.


If my calculations are correct, taking into account solicitors, moving costs and all the fees, we have got our emergency fund set up which is the difference between my basic salary and our outgoings for 6 months if OH lost his job.


I want to get this up to a year over time but 6 months was our initial goal and we are now starting to build up a pot to start saving towards work on the house!


Have applied for a John Lewis partnership credit card to get the points for JL vouchers - always useful. 6 months 0% on purchases so I will use it to stooze / budget for things like the house insurance and BT line which I will pay up front.


As we won't be able to overpay for the foreseeable future due to the amount of work the house needs, my plan is to work out ways to get the most benefit from the offset.


Am thinking of an MBNA money transfer but will wait until after we have moved before I look into that. Don't want to trash my credit file with too many searches - particularly before we have even got the house and the mortgage!

katep23

Eek, completion date set for next Friday 12th December! Still wrangling over exchange, we want to exchange and complete same day, the vendors want us to complete ASAP (preferably today but money won't be with solicitors until this Friday).


Exciting but nerve-wracking!


We have bought a van to move us (Fiat Ducato, LWB, high top) which we will sell again afterwards so that should keep moving costs down.


I really should be packing but after a stressful day at work I am just having a glass of wine to relax first.


can't do smileys for some reason any more but if I did they would be jumpy up and down ones!

katep23

Looks like we'll be exchanging and completing on the same day as we wanted to so counting down to next Friday!


Change in stamp duty means we will be about £2,300 better off - as it's money we have already budgeted and saved that will be spent on starting work on the house.


First issues to deal with are the electrics (old wylex domino fuseboard from the 70's), getting the boiler serviced (at least 20 years old and hasn't been used in about 16 months as the house has been empty) and dealing with the damp at the end of the house.


Will get a dehumidifier to try and dry the house out but the study will need the plaster removing, walls to be tanked and then replastered.


Exciting but nervous all at the same time!

gallygirl

katep23 wrote: »

Change in stamp duty means we will be about £2,300 better off - as it's money we have already budgeted and saved that will be spent on starting work on the house.

What a great start :T. Good luck with it all, hope it goes smoothly. Remember - emergency box with kettle, mugs, tea, coffee, milk, sugar, spoons, biccies, wine, bottle opener and glasses to be kept separate .